Misogyny In One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is a culmination of many sides of society fit into a small hospital. Fighting each other to escape or be fixed, each character brings a history with them that influences their emotions and actions. Some fall into the same category, but others—the outliers—have a unique aura that quickly makes them the main players of the game of the “combine”. The protagonist and the antagonist of the work, share only one thing in common, they assert themselves to be the leader of the cult inside the hospital. But why? One is a man and the other is a woman. Something has to have triggered the feeling of superiority above each other. Maybe it’s the man’s misogyny, maybe it’s in the opposite direction—a foreshadowing

They were the kings of their class without a queen. Men held decision-making positions and dominated earned wages. Men formed literary and scientific labor organizations, reform groups, Bible study groups, and sports leagues. A majority of men were farmers, field hands, and skilled craftsmen. Men controlled everything, even their wives. Now, some of these men were justifiable; they did it to protect their woman but in doing so gave the other part a view of a different side. In Madness and Misogony in Ken Kesey’s One flew over the Cuckoos Nest, Vitkus states that McMurphy is the Charismatic one, a figure of spiritual strength and sexual energy (65). It is apparent from a historical perspective that McMurphy is charismatic: he not only strives to save his fellow patients, but also tries to save Nurse Ratched, the antagonist, from herself. He promises to help Bromden out as a manly agreement to assist the other in need. He tries whatever he can to strength their manhood. If McMurphy represents man, then a man to Kesey has unrelenting selfhood and independence along with sympathy for his fellow men. He is the all American savior who leads everyone with the mindset of a man from the